Steve Long (Hero Games)
Encyclopedia
Steven S. Long is a role-playing game
author and one of the owners of Hero Games
.
Long started playing Champions
in 1982, and began writing for the game 10 years later, starting with articles in the Hero Games house magazine, Adventurer's Club. His writing expanded into collaborations, and full books starting with Dark Champions
in 1993. Other works included Justice Not Law, An Eye for an Eye, The Ultimate Martial Artist, The Ultimate Mentalist, Watchers of the Dragon, and lots of articles for Adventurer's Club, The HERO System Almanacs, and similar publications. He soon branched out into working for other game companies, such as White Wolf Game Studios.
In 1997, Long quit his job as a practicing trial lawyer to write and design games as a freelancer. During this time he wrote for numerous companies, including White Wolf
, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Steve Jackson Games
, Last Unicorn Games
, and Chameleon Eclectic. His work on Last Unicorn's Star Trek RPG
lines soon earned him a full-time job with the company as Deep Space Nine RPG Line Developer. He held that job for about fifteen months, until Wizards of the Coast
bought LUG. He then moved on to being a Designer for WOTC, working on (among other things) The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game
.
After leaving WOTC in December 2000, Long was hired by Decipher, Inc.
to work on its new Star Trek and Lord of the Rings
roleplaying games, the latter winning the 2002 Origins Award
for Best Role-playing Game. All told, as of late 2001, Long had written, co-authored, or edited/developed over 70 RPG products.
In December 2001, he founded DOJ, Inc. along with Darren Watts
and other investors, and purchased the rights and assets of Hero Games from Cybergames, Inc. In addition to being an owner of DOJ/Hero, Long also works for the company as HERO System
Line Developer, where his duties include planning, writing, editing, and developing manuscripts for publication. He also runs a section on the HERO Games Forums, where people can post questions in a section where only Steve Long can reply, thus ensuring accurate responses.
A graduate of Duke University
and Duke University School of Law
, he lives in Greensboro, North Carolina
.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
author and one of the owners of Hero Games
Hero Games
Hero Games is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the Fuzion system.-History:...
.
Long started playing Champions
Champions (role-playing game)
Champions is a role-playing game published by Hero Games that is designed to simulate and function in a four-color superhero comic book world. It was created by George MacDonald, Steve Peterson, Bruce Harlick, and Ray Greer....
in 1982, and began writing for the game 10 years later, starting with articles in the Hero Games house magazine, Adventurer's Club. His writing expanded into collaborations, and full books starting with Dark Champions
Dark Champions
Dark Champions is a game published by Hero Games using its Hero System rules to simulate the action-adventure genre.When the original Dark Champions book was published in the early 1990s, its focus was on dark vigilantes in a superhero or almost-superhero setting, focusing on adventures similar to...
in 1993. Other works included Justice Not Law, An Eye for an Eye, The Ultimate Martial Artist, The Ultimate Mentalist, Watchers of the Dragon, and lots of articles for Adventurer's Club, The HERO System Almanacs, and similar publications. He soon branched out into working for other game companies, such as White Wolf Game Studios.
In 1997, Long quit his job as a practicing trial lawyer to write and design games as a freelancer. During this time he wrote for numerous companies, including White Wolf
White Wolf
White Wolf is a publisher of role-playing games, notably the World of Darkness.White Wolf may also refer to:*White Wolf , a location in Yosemite National Park*White Wolf , a Canadian heavy metal band...
, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
, Last Unicorn Games
Last Unicorn Games
Last Unicorn Games was a games publisher that was eventually absorbed by Wizards of the Coast.Last Unicorn developed the collectible card games Dune and Heresy: Kingdom Come as well as the 2000 role-playing game Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium...
, and Chameleon Eclectic. His work on Last Unicorn's Star Trek RPG
Star Trek role-playing game (Last Unicorn)
Star Trek: The Next Generation Role-playing Game is a role-playing game set in the fictional Star Trek universe, designed by Last Unicorn Games . Due to licensing issues, LUG did not release the game as a single core rulebook and setting supplements for the various series, but instead intended to...
lines soon earned him a full-time job with the company as Deep Space Nine RPG Line Developer. He held that job for about fifteen months, until Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
bought LUG. He then moved on to being a Designer for WOTC, working on (among other things) The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game
The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game
The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game based on The Wheel of Time, an epic fantasy series by American author Robert Jordan. The game consists of two publications by Wizards of the Coast, a core rulebook published in October 2001 and an expansion, The Prophecies of the Dragon,...
.
After leaving WOTC in December 2000, Long was hired by Decipher, Inc.
Decipher, Inc.
Decipher, Inc. is an American gaming company based in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. They began with three puzzles called "Decipher" then moved on to party games and Pente sets, but since 1994 produced collectible card and role-playing games. Their longest-running offering is the How to Host a Murder...
to work on its new Star Trek and Lord of the Rings
Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, released by Decipher Inc. in 2002, is a role-playing game set in the Middle-earth of J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction. The game is set in the years between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, but may be run at any time from the First to Fourth Age and...
roleplaying games, the latter winning the 2002 Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Role-playing Game. All told, as of late 2001, Long had written, co-authored, or edited/developed over 70 RPG products.
In December 2001, he founded DOJ, Inc. along with Darren Watts
Darren Watts (Hero Games)
Darren Watts is one of the founders of DOJ Inc. and the president of Hero Games, publishers of roleplaying games using the Hero System such as Champions, Fantasy Hero and Star Hero...
and other investors, and purchased the rights and assets of Hero Games from Cybergames, Inc. In addition to being an owner of DOJ/Hero, Long also works for the company as HERO System
Hero System
The Hero System is a generic role-playing game system that developed from the superhero RPG Champions. It is used as the underlying mechanics of other Hero Games role-playing games such as Dark Champions, Fantasy Hero, Star Hero, and Pulp Hero...
Line Developer, where his duties include planning, writing, editing, and developing manuscripts for publication. He also runs a section on the HERO Games Forums, where people can post questions in a section where only Steve Long can reply, thus ensuring accurate responses.
A graduate of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and Duke University School of Law
Duke University School of Law
The Duke University School of Law is the law school and a constituent academic unit of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law began as the Trinity College School of Law in 1868. In 1924, following the renaming of Trinity...
, he lives in Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
.
Media Mentions
Steve Long has appeared in the following newspaper and magazine articles, websites and podcasts.Podcasts
- RPG Countdown: Steve appeared on this episodes: 18 December 2009 (HERO System 6E: Character Creation).